We are posting several short videos to provide everyone an opportunity to hear directly from Dr. Deming. It is remarkable how well the ideas he spoke of have aged even while the world has been changing rapidly. This video offers several questions that challenge us to think more deeply about current practices and perhaps help [...]
Customer satisfaction is better than dissatisfaction but it is not enough. A satisfied customer will leave for another provider at the slightest provocation. They see a bit lower price – they leave. You make one minor slip up – they leave. They find some marketing effort cute – they leave. Delighted customers are very difficult [...]
Gemba is a Japanese term for “the real place” or in management terms “where the important action takes place.” The most common use of the term “gemba,” in a management context, is with respect to define where the important work is done within an organization. Deming organizations, and lean organizations, have managers that spend their [...]
What topics would you like us to discuss on this blog? What questions would you like us respond to? One of the goals for this blog is to engage the community of readers in sharing there thoughts on the ideas we discuss. Please share your comments on the blog posts and respond to the questions [...]
Masaaki Imai is a consultant, author and founder of the Kaizen Institute. The second edition of his book, Gemba Kaizen, was published this year. He agreed to an interview with The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog. Question: Did you work with Dr. Deming? Answer: I never had the privileges of meeting Dr. Deming. I can [...]
Several speeches are mentioned in the various biographical sketches of Dr. Deming and his impact on Japanese management. In particular a talk he gave at the Mt. Hakone Conference center in 1950 seems to have been important. Attendees included the top industrial managers, representing an esitimated 75% of industrial capital base of Japan at that [...]
From page 3 of Out of the Crisis Improve Quality —> Costs decrease because of less rework, fewer mistakes, fewer delays, snags, better use of machine-time and materials —> Productivity Improves —> Capture the market with better quality and lower price —> Stay in Business —> Provide jobs and more jobs The prevailing action during [...]
Dr. Deming is well known for urging companies to bring a scientific rigor to their management practices. For that reason, some people remember his primary emphasis being on control charts and PDSA and using data to validate decisions and drive improvement. It is true that he preached the importance of using this thinking to improve. [...]